Music for Humans and Humpback Whales   

    As researchers conclude in Science, the love of music is not only a universal feature of the human species, but is also deeply fixed in complex structures of the human brain, and is far more ancientthan previously suspected.

    In the articles that discuss the field of bio-musicology, the study of the biological basis for the creation and appreciation of music, researchers present various evidence to show that music-making is at once an original human "business", and an art form with skillful performers throughout the animal kingdom.

    The new reports stress that humans hold no copy right on sound wisdom, and that a number of nonhuman animals produce what can rightly be called music, rather than random sound. Recentin-depth analyses of the songs sung by humpback whales show that, even when their organ would allow them to do otherwise, the animals converge on the same choices relating to sounds and beauty, and accept the same laws ofsong composition as those preferred by human musicians, and human ears, everywhere.

    For example, male humpback whales, who spend six months of each year doing little else but singing, use rhythms (节奏) similar to those found in human music and musical phrases of similar length—a few seconds. Whales areable to make sounds over a range of at least seven octaves (八度音阶), yet they tend to move on through a song in beautiful musical intervals, rather than moving forwards madly. They mix thesounds like drums and pure tones in a ratio (比例) which agrees with that heard in much western music. They also usea favorite technique of human singers, the so-called A-B-A form, in which a theme is stated, then developed, and then returned to in slightly revised form.

    Perhaps most impressive, humpback songs contain tunes that rhyme. "This suggests that whales use rhyme in the same way we do: as a technique in poem tohelp them remember complex material," the researchers write.

    In 1941, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov stated the Three Laws of Robotics. These laws come from the world of science fiction, but the real world is catching up. A law firm gave Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University $10 million to explore artificial intelligence. Peter Kalis, chairman of the law firm, K&L Gates, said the development of technology had led to questions that were never taken seriously before. What will happen when you make robots that are smart, independent thinkers and then try to limit their freedom?

    Researcher Kalis said, “One expert said we'll be at a point when we give an instruction to our robot to go to work in the morning and it turns around and says, 'I'd rather go to the beach.'” He said that one day we would want laws to keep our free-thinking robots from running wild.

    With the law firm's gift, the university will be able to explore problems now appearing within automated industries. “Take driverless cars for example,” Kalis said. “If there's an accident concerned with a driverless car, what policies do we have in place? What kind of insurance policies do they have?” In fact, people can take a ride in a driverless car in Pittsburgh where an American online transportation network company uses the city as a testing ground for the company's driverless cars.

    The problems go beyond self-driving cars and robots. Think about the next generation of smartphones, those chips fixed in televisions, computers, fridges, etc., and the ever-expanding collection of personal data being stored in the “cloud”. So can Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics be used in reality? Is it necessary to have a moral guideline that everyone can understand? Whatever it is, doing no harm should be the very first one.

    Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.

    While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.

    The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn't just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.

    Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.

    Fellow Robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company's "Oshbot" robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product's location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.

    The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees. "We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us," said Breazeal.

    People who like travelling have their reasons. They believe that travelling can help them expand their field of view, especially in the geographical and historical sense. They also think that touring will give them more chances to enjoy different kinds of food and experience new things that would never be brought by other activities. But those who dislike travelling also have some reasons.

    Travelling, in my opinion, does more good than harm. Most importantly, it broadens  (使扩大) our mind. We can get in touch with other civilizations (文明), cultures, customs and ideas.

    Through history, most people travelled because of necessity (必要性)—not for pleasure. People travelled just in order to remain alive. They searched for food to eat or places to live in. They sometimes ran away from enemies. This is not to say that no one ever travelled just for the fun of it. In ancient times, for example, rich Romans travelled all the way to Greece to take part in the Olympic Games, and festivals. Of course, some people decided to travel just out of curiosity (好奇心). They wanted to find out what it looked like beyond the horizon (地平线). Also business travel has been going on for centuries. Traders could not only make money but also learn to speak several languages and be introduced to different cultures.

    So, travelling does enrich our mind and draw new ideas to us. There is no doubt that we can get much from it.

    Adults understand what it feels like to be flooded with objects(物品). Why do we often think that more is more when it comes to kids and their belongings? The good news is that I can help my own kids learn earlier than I did how to live more with less.

    I found the pre-holidays a good time to encourage young children to donate less-used things, and it worked. Because of our efforts, our daughter Georgia did decide to donate a large bag of toys to a little girl whose mother was unable to pay for her holiday due to illness. She chose to sell a few larger objects that were less often used when we promised to put the money into her school fund (基金) (our kindergarten daughter is serious about becoming a doctor).

    For weeks, I've been thinking of bigger, deeper questions: How do we make it a habit for them? And how do we train ourselves to help them live with, need, and use less? Yesterday, I sat with my son, Shepherd, determined to test my own theory on this. I decided to play with him with only one toy for as long as it would keep his interest. I expected that one toy would keep his attention for about five minutes, ten minutes, max. I chose a red rubber ball — simple, universally available. We passed it, he tried to put it in his mouth, he tried bouncing it, rolling it, sitting on it, throwing it. It was totally, completely enough for him. Before I knew it an hour had passed and it was time to move on to lunch.

    We both became absorbed in the simplicity of playing together. He had my full attention and I had his. My little experiment to find joy in a single object worked for both of us.

    Hawaii, 2nd Edition

    Original price: $ 22.95

    Sale price: $ 20.95

    Summary: Hawaii is one of the world's premier vacation destinations, and this practical and fact- packed book shows why. Like other Traveler guides, it's a treasure of special features - walking and driving tours, in-depth Hawaiian history, a sample of the best of each island's activities, plus a selection of hotels and restaurants in every price range.

    Be the Pack Leader

    Original price: $ 25.95

    Sale price: $ 18.95

    Summary: Bestselling author Cesar Millan takes principles of dog psychology a step further, showing you how to develop the calm energy of a successful leader and use it to improve your dog's life and your own life. With practical tips and techniques, Cesar helps you understand and read your dog's energy as well as your own energy so that you can take your connection with your dog to the next level.

    Celebrate Hanukkah

    Original price: $ 15.85

    Sale price: $7.85

    Summary: The US astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman brought a menorah(烛台) and a dreidel (陀螺)on his Space Shuttle mission in 1993. Hoffman observed the traditional spinning of the dreidel, but wisely left the menorah unlit in several thousand liters of rocket fuel. Also included is the author's sure-to-please potato pancakes' recipe.

    A New Perspective of Earth

    Original price: $26.85

    Sale price: $ 20.85

    Summary: The author Benjamin Grant describes a unique collection of satellite images of the earth that offer an unexpected look at humanity. More than 200 images of industry, agriculture, architecture and nature highlight incredible patterns while also revealing a deeper story about human influence. This extraordinary photographic journey around our planet captures the sense of wonder gained from a new, aerial point and creates a perspective of the earth as it has never been seen before.